State v. JEREMY P.

2005 WI App 13, 692 N.W.2d 311, 278 Wis. 2d 366, 2004 Wisc. App. LEXIS 990
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedDecember 7, 2004
Docket04-0360
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 2005 WI App 13 (State v. JEREMY P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. JEREMY P., 2005 WI App 13, 692 N.W.2d 311, 278 Wis. 2d 366, 2004 Wisc. App. LEXIS 990 (Wis. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

KESSLER, J.

¶ 1. Jeremy P appeals from a dispo-sitional order adjudicating him to be a delinquent child based on his commission of third-degree sexual assault *370 contrary to Wis. Stat. § 940.225(3) (2001-02). 1 Jeremy challenges that portion of the order requiring him to register as a sex offender, on grounds that the applicable mandatory registration statutes, Wis. Stat. §§ 938.34(15m)(bm) and 301.45(lm), are unconstitutional when applied to juveniles. Specifically, he argues that the mandatory registration requirement is unconstitutional because it violates juveniles' rights to: (1) trial by jury and procedural due process; (2) substantive due process; and (3) equal protection. We reject Jeremy's constitutional challenges because those issues have already been resolved against his position by the Wisconsin Supreme Court or other controlling Wisconsin precedent. However, we reverse that portion of the dispositional order requiring him to register as a sex offender and remand so that the trial court can exercise its discretion and decide whether to stay the sex offender registration portion of the dispositional order effective as of the date the order was originally entered. See State v. Cesar G., 2004 WI 61, ¶ 2, 272 Wis. 2d 22, 682 N.W.2d 1 ("A circuit court has discretion under Wis. Stat. § 938.34(16) to stay that part of a dispositional order requiring a delinquent child to register as a sex offender."). All other conditions of the order, unchallenged on appeal, are affirmed.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2. In 2002, the State alleged that Jeremy, then age 13, had engaged in fellatio with a five-year-old child on two occasions. Pursuant to a negotiated plea, Jeremy admitted he committed one act of third-degree sexual assault. However, he reserved the right to challenge the *371 statutory requirement that he register as a sex offender. See Wis. Stat. § 938.34(15m)(bm). 2

¶ 3. Jeremy was placed on supervision for one year with a variety of conditions. The court commissioner who accepted Jeremy's plea specifically imposed and stayed the sex offender reporting requirement pending the trial court's decision on Jeremy's challenge to the mandatory registration statute. The trial court issued a written opinion lifting the stay and requiring Jeremy to register as a sex offender consistent with Wis. Stat. § 938.34(15m)(bm). The trial court noted its concerns with the current mandatory registration system, but concluded that it had no discretion to refuse to impose the registration requirement and no discretion to stay that portion of the dispositional order. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

¶ 4. Jeremy challenges the constitutionality of Wis. Stat. § 938.34(15m)(bm), which mandates that juveniles adjudicated delinquent for committing specific offenses enumerated in that statute must register as sex offenders pursuant to the procedure outlined in Wis. Stat. § 301.45. He also challenges § 301.45(lm), which provides a limited exception to the registration requirement. Although Jeremy indicates that he is challenging the constitutionality of § 301.45(lm), we interpret his argument as objecting to the fact that § 301.45(lm) provides an exception to registration of juveniles only in limited cases. Jeremy asks this court to find mandatory registration of juveniles in all cases unconstitutional.

*372 ¶ 5. The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. McManus, 152 Wis. 2d 113, 129, 447 N.W.2d 654 (1989). All statutes reach us with the presumption that they are constitutional, and the party challenging the statute has the burden of showing beyond a reasonable doubt that it is unconstitutional. Id. There are two major categories of constitutional challenges: "facial" challenges and "as-applied" challenges. Joseph E.G., 2001 WI App 29, ¶ 5, 240 Wis. 2d 481, 623 N.W.2d 137. Jeremy makes a facial challenge to the constitutionality of requiring certain juveniles adjudicated under the Juvenile Justice Code to register as sex offenders. In doing so, he must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the challenged statutes are, on their face, unconstitutional. See McManus, 152 Wis. 2d at 129.

¶ 6. We begin our analysis by examining Wis. Stat. § 938.34(15m)(bm). It provides in relevant part:

938.34 Disposition of juvenile adjudged delinquent.
(15m) Sex Offender Reporting Requirements.
(bm) If the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent on the basis of a violation, or the solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt to commit a violation, of s. 940.22 (2), 940.225 (1), (2), or (3), 944.06, 948.02 (1) or (2), 948.025, 948.05, 948.055, 948.06, 948.07, 948,075, 948.08, 948.095, 948.11 (2) (a) or (am), 948.12, 948.13, or 948.30, or of s. 940.30 or 940.31 if the victim was a minor and the juvenile was not the victim's parent, the court shall require the juvenile to comply with the reporting re *373 quirements under s. 301.45 unless the court determines, after a hearing on a motion made by the juvenile, that the juvenile is not required to comply under s. 301.45 (lm).

Consistent with this statute, the court is required to order Jeremy, who was found to have committed a violation of Wis. Stat. § 940.225(3), to comply with the registration and reporting requirements of Wis. Stat. § 301.45, the sex offender registration statute. Although § 301.45(lm) provides an exception to the registration requirement, Jeremy acknowledges that he does not qualify for that exception. 3

*374 ¶ 7. Jeremy argues that because the trial court is obligated to order juveniles adjudicated delinquent for certain statutory violations to register as sex offenders, and has no discretion to refuse to so order, the challenged statutes violate certain fundamental constitutional rights. He explains:

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Bluebook (online)
2005 WI App 13, 692 N.W.2d 311, 278 Wis. 2d 366, 2004 Wisc. App. LEXIS 990, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jeremy-p-wisctapp-2004.